Spanish Education Research Articles

Scoping Review of Textbooks for Medical Spanish Education.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01333-8.

The Perspective of Physical Education Teachers in Spain Regarding Barriers to the Practice of Physical Activity among Immigrant Children and Adolescents: A Qualitative Study.

Physical activity (PA) contributes to the development of children and adolescents and to their mental and physical health. The practice of PA in the school context can contribute towards generating a more inclusive educational community for immigrant children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to describe the perspectives of Spanish physical education (PE) teachers on the practice of PA among immigrant children and adolescents. This research was a qualitative exploratory study. A purposeful sampling strategy was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and field notes. Twenty teachers were recruited. An inductive thematic analysis and content analysis were applied. The following topics were identified: (a) Professional expectations; (b) Economic resources; (c) Integration; (d) Family; (e) Religious beliefs and practices; and (f) Gender difference. A predominance of positive emotions was identified in the narratives, and the most repeated words in word clouds were ‘Caribbean’, ‘Latin’, and ‘population’. These findings help to identify PA barriers for immigrant children and adolescents and may contribute to the creation of PA-based interventions in social and educational contexts.

Effect of Cognitive Variables on the Reading Ability of Spanish Children at Age Seven.

The objective of this study is to determine the contribution made by knowledge of letters, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric rapid automatized naming at the ages of six and seven to the ability of Spanish children to read words at 7 years of age. A total of 116 Spanish-speaking school children took part in the study, from schools located in an average socio-cultural setting, without special educational needs. The reading ability of these pupils was evaluated at the age of seven, and cognitive variables were assessed at 6 and 7 years of age. Descriptive-exploratory analyses, bivariate analyses, and multivariate regressions were performed. The results show that cognitive variables measured at these ages contribute differently to the ability to read words at 7 years of age. Rapid naming does not seem to influence word reading; knowledge of letters no longer influences word reading as children grow older; and phonological awareness and phonological memory maintain their contribution to the explanation of word reading. These results indicate that reading in Spanish depends on different cognitive variables and that this relationship varies according to age. The findings have key educational implications in terms of teaching reading skills and the prevention of specific learning difficulties in Spanish Primary Education.

The long-lasting effects of citizenship education

Both policymakers and scholars disagree about the effects and suitability of citizenship education standalone courses. Extant evidence about their effects is mixed and inconclusive. This article exploits the discontinuities generated by changes in Spanish education policies to identify the long-term effects of civic education on multiple outputs usually set as the policy goals of these courses: political engagement, institutional support and political values. In 2007, a new standalone citizenship education subject was introduced in the Spanish school curricula. This subject was then progressively removed from the curricula until its disappearance in 2017. These changes gave rise to exogenous variation in exposure to civic education between young individuals born in different years. In this article these policy changes are exploited to identify the effects of citizenship education through a regression discontinuity design that draws on a 12-wave panel survey. The results point to the emergence of a generation of critical – yet passive – citizens as a result of the implementation of a standalone citizenship education subject in Spanish schools. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1917153 .

Student and Faculty Diversity is Insufficient to Ensure High-Quality Medical Spanish Education in US Medical Schools.

Medical Spanish education aims to reduce linguistic barriers in healthcare and has historically been led by Hispanic/Latinx students and faculty, often without formal training or institutional support. We surveyed 158 US medical schools about their medical Spanish programs. We then examined national trends in Underrepresented in Medicine and Hispanic/Latinx faculty and students as factors associated with meeting medical Spanish basic standards for curricula, educators, assessment, and course credit. We received responses from 125 schools (79%), of which 98 (78%) reported offering some form of medical Spanish. Schools with greater racial/ethnic diversity were more likely to have medical Spanish required courses (P-values < 0.01) but not curricular electives. Overall, likelihood of meeting all basic standards did not differ by diversity characteristics. High-quality medical Spanish requires more than recruitment of diverse students and faculty. Institutions should prioritize meaningful inclusion by supporting evidence-based curricula and faculty educators.

Adapting a Nutrition Education Curriculum for Spanish-Speaking Adults Experiencing Low-Income: Recommendations from Key Stakeholders

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand recommendations of key stakeholders regarding cultural adaptation of an evidence-based nutrition and physical activity education curriculum for Spanish-speaking adults. Findings from focus groups with Spanish-speaking adults (n=43) and telephone interviews with experts in Spanish nutrition and health education (n=9) revealed: 1) emphasis of the heterogeneity of Spanish-speaking communities; 2) importance of including family in nutrition education; 3) importance of addressing cultural differences between Spanish-speaking and general United States culture; and 4) tips for engaging Spanish-speaking adults in health education. These findings were used to inform cultural adaptation of a nutrition education curriculum.

The Challenges in the Selection and Recruitment to School Headteachers in the Spanish Educational System

ABSTRACT Currently, the low number of candidates and the complex formation of the teams are great problems in the occupation of the school leadership position. This qualitative study aims to identify the main difficulties experienced from the perspective of the candidates. Based on the data obtained in various interviews, it should be noted how the headteacher selection process is influenced by different variables, both contextual and personal. The variables that condition this process include complexity of the decision to be a candidate or accept the appointment and the difficulty of forming and a team, among others.

Medical Spanish in US Medical Schools: a National Survey to Examine Existing Programs.

Most medical schools offer medical Spanish education to teach patient-physician communication skills with the growing Spanish-speaking population. Medical Spanish courses that lack basic standards of curricular structure, faculty educators, learner assessment, and institutional credit may increase student confidence without sufficiently improving skills, inadvertently exacerbating communication problems with linguistic minority patients. To conduct a national environmental scan of US medical schools' medical Spanish educational efforts, examine to what extent existing efforts meet basic standards, and identify next steps in improving the quality of medical Spanish education. Data were collected from March to November 2019 using an IRB-exempt online 6-item primary and 14-item secondary survey. All deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges member US medical schools were invited to complete the primary survey. If a medical Spanish educator or leader was identified, that person was sent the secondary survey. The presence of medical Spanish educational programs and, when present, whether the programs met four basic standards: formal curricular structure, faculty educator, learner assessment, and course credit. Seventy-nine percent of medical schools (125 out of 158) responded to either or both the primary and/or secondary surveys. Among participating schools, 78% (98/125) of medical schools offered medical Spanish programming; of those, 21% (21/98) met all basic standards. Likelihood of meeting all basic standards did not significantly differ by location, school size, or funding type. Fifty-four percent (53/98) report formal medical Spanish curricula, 69% (68/98) have faculty instructors, 57% (56/98) include post-course assessment, and 31% (30/98) provide course credit. Recommended next steps for medical schools include formalizing medical Spanish courses as electives or required curricula; hiring and/or training faculty educators; incorporating learner assessment; and granting credit for student course completion. Future studies should evaluate implementation strategies to establish best practice recommendations beyond basic standards.

«De STEM nos gusta todo menos STEM». Análisis crítico de una tendencia educativa de moda

En este artículo se presenta un análisis crítico sobre los desafíos y limitaciones de propuestas e investigaciones didácticas enmarcadas en el movimiento STEM. Se argumenta que la mayoría de las propuestas didácticas catalogadas como STEM son educativamente deficitarias, además de poco novedosas respecto de planteamientos anteriores para la enseñanza de las ciencias, la tecnología y las matemáticas. Se cuestiona también la viabilidad de un enfoque STEM en el contexto educativo español, y se discute sobre el uso abusivo del término, empleado a menudo como eslogan para atraer financiación, o hacer propaganda de iniciativas y materiales educativos añosos, rebautizados ahora como STEM. Se finaliza con una reflexión sobre la necesidad de un proceso de validación didáctica riguroso que oriente sobre las posibilidades y limitaciones de una enseñanza STEM.

Comprehensive School and Vocational Training in Spain. A Longitudinal Approach from the Transition from Lower to Upper Secondary Education

Fitting vocational training into the Spanish education system has been challenging and problematic because two objectives are trying to be fulfilled; the first to supply skills for the productive system and the second to be an alternative option for the young people who do not follow the academic track. Moreover, the political vicissitudes of recent decades have added to the difficulties involved in balancing these requirements. In Spain, both the economic agents and the education system itself with its academic inertia have relegated vocational training to a subordinate position, able to attract mainly young people with lower academic achievement and largely rejected by families with a higher educational level. The assumption was that the introduction of a comprehensive secondary education in the 1990s would provide parity between the academic and the vocational tracks. However, the comprehensive nature of this system was not fully applied, with students in many schools separated by ability levels, and in fact having little impact on the social bias of the students choosing vocational training. The empirical contribution of this study is based on a survey carried out among 2056 students from Barcelona in their last year of compulsory secondary education in 2013–14 and who continued in full-time education, be it baccalaureate or vocational training. The main result shows that comprehensive education improves school success and decreases the vocational orientation of students from low social backgrounds.

PREDIGA project: Preliminary results of the Spanish multicenter epidemiological and medical education project in acid sphingomyelinase deficiency disease (ASMD) and Gaucher disease (GD)

PREDIGA project: Preliminary results of the Spanish multicenter epidemiological and medical education project in acid sphingomyelinase deficiency disease (ASMD) and Gaucher disease (GD)

Medical Spanish Musculoskeletal and Dermatologic Educational Module.

IntroductionWhile many medical schools provide opportunities in medical Spanish for medical students, schools often struggle with identifying a structured curriculum. The purpose of this module was to provide a flexible, organ system-based approach to teaching and learning musculoskeletal and dermatologic Spanish terminology, patient-centered communication skills, and sociocultural health contexts.MethodsAn 8-hour educational module for medical students was created to teach musculoskeletal and dermatologic medical communication skills in Spanish within the Hispanic/Latinx cultural context. Participants included 47 fourth-year medical students at an urban medical school with a starting minimum Spanish proficiency at the intermediate level. Faculty provided individualized feedback on speaking, listening, and writing performance of medical Spanish skills, and learners completed a written pre- and postassessment testing skills pertaining to communication domains of vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension as well as self-reported confidence levels.ResultsStudents demonstrated improvement in vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, and self-confidence of musculoskeletal and dermatologic medical Spanish topics. While students with overall lower starting proficiency levels (intermediate) scored lower on the premodule assessment compared to higher proficiency students (advanced/native), the postmodule assessment did not show significant differences in skills performance among these groups.DiscussionAn intermediate Spanish level prerequisite for this musculoskeletal and dermatologic module can result in skills improvement for all learners despite starting proficiency variability. Future study should evaluate learner clinical performance and integration of this module into other educational settings such as graduate medical education (e.g., orthopedic, rehabilitation, and dermatology residency programs) and other health professions (e.g., physical therapy and nursing).

The challenge of incorporating digital skills in the classroom: perceptions and attitudes of Spanish Salesian teachers

Skills enabling the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) in classrooms have become necessary for teachers’ professional practice. Using an applied approach, this study conducts an analysis of the use of and attitudes and perceptions towards digital skills among Spanish teachers in Salesian schools. Given the relevance of technologies in society, the study aims to understand the viewpoint of teachers in relation to the use and assessment of digital means appropriate for school tasks. The objective is to provide an accurate depiction of teachers’ perspectives, opinions, and attitudes towards ICT use in the educational sphere. Specifically, the study addresses aspects related to their perceptions of the areas proposed to be focused on by the Spanish Education Ministry in the Common Framework for Digital Competence of Teachers (2017). Thus, the study identifies key shortcomings to address necessary and appropriate training of children in the current society of information.

Exploring the beliefs of Spanish teachers who promote the development of inclusive pedagogy

ABSTRACT This article explores the beliefs of 25 Spanish primary education teachers who develop inclusive pedagogy when planning and implementing actions for all students. We used a qualitative methodology and the data were gathered through semi-structured and in-depth interviews. We analysed the data using an inductive coding system. The results revealed the beliefs of the participants about diversity and inclusive education, their professional self-concept, how they understood learning and their beliefs about their self-efficacy as teachers. These teachers showed a humanistic perspective that welcomes diversity and they felt responsible for the presence, learning, happiness and success of all their students.

Consuming Selected Groups of Products Among Polish and Spanish Physical Education Students Within the Context of the Assumptions Proposed by the Mediterranean Diet

Introduction: Nutritional behaviour is determined by individual and environmental factors. Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse the frequency of consuming selected groups of food products within the context of the recommendations proposed by the Mediterranean diet model, depending on the country of residence: Polish vs. Spanish physical education students. Material and methods: Research was carried out among 219 Polish and 280 Spanish students, using the standardised Kom-PAN questionnaire. In the statistical analysis, the chi-square test was used, at the α=0.05 level of statistical significance. Results: Nutritional mistakes of the general population were related to the low frequency of consuming: fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread and other whole grains, fermented dairy products and vegetable oils, and the relatively frequent consumption of red meat, processed meat products and confectionery. Among the Polish students, significantly more frequent consumption of some products recommended in the Mediterranean diet (fruit, vegetables and wholegrain cereal products) as well as poultry meat was noted, but also more frequent consumption of sweets and confectionery products (p&lt;0.001). The Spanish students significantly more often consumed the recommended dishes with legume seeds and sea fish (p&lt;0.001), but also non-recommended products - red meat and fast food (p&lt;0.01). Conclusions: Among Polish and Spanish physical education students, the assumptions of the Mediterranean diet were implemented to a limit extent, while depending on the country of residence, their differentiation was demonstrated.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETENCE FOR SOCIETY AND SCHOOLS IN TIME OF CRISIS. A SYSTEMATIC BIBLIOGRAPHIC REVIEW

Entrepreneurship education plays an essential role in the development of countries. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the literature to encourage Spanish education to organize more entrepreneurship proposals in schools that can reinforce the country after the coronavirus crisis. This competence's value lies in its perception as a strategy that engages actions to achieve social advantages. The databases used were Google Scholar, WOS, SCOPUS, Dialnet and Redalyc. After applying eligibility criteria and eliminating duplicates, 30 articles were selected, which are the main basis for the treatment of business competence and the proposal of an intervention for secondary school students, which aim to generate entrepreneurship competences among them, that improve their employability and their coping in crisis situations derived from health pandemics such as those we have recently experienced due to the coronavirus. The results are discussed by the positive impact of the work of this competence in the society and in the education of the students. In addition, the research offers a reflection on the feasibility of the proposal in the future.

Personality Determinants of Pro-health Behaviours Among Polish and Spanish Physical Education Students

The aim of the study was to analyse personality determinants related to the level of pro-health-behaviours among Polish and Spanish physical education students. The study was conducted among 219 Polish and 280 Spanish students, using the NEO-FFI Personality Inventory as well as the Pro-health Behaviour Inventory by Juczyński. Statistical analyses were performed using Pearson’s correlation coeffi cient and moderation analysis. Among the prohealth behaviours, students obtained the highest results in terms of positive mental attitude, and among personality traits, for extraversion. A signifi cant increase in the general index and some domains of pro-health behaviours together with an increase of extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness, as well as a decrease in neuroticism, were found among all the students. The moderating infl uence of home country on personality relationships with health-promoting behaviours was also confi rmed, with an indication towards an the increase in the general index of health-promoting behaviours and/or individual domains along with the intensifi cation of agreeableness and conscientiousness, and a decrease along with the increase in neuroticism and extraversion, but only among Polish students. Regardless of country of origin, the overall index of health-promoting behaviours increased along with the rise in conscientiousness (notably among Spanish students). Signifi cant relationships between personality traits and the level of pro-health behaviours have been demonstrated, as well as the moderating infl uenceof home country on the relationship between these variables among Polish and Spanish physical education students.

¿Qué incidencia tiene el contexto social, económico y cultural de las familias en los resultados académicos de sus hijos?

En el estudio se presenta una descripción, análisis y reflexión de la incidencia del contexto social, económico y cultural de las familias españolas en los resultados académicos de sus hijos. Para la realización de la investigación se ha utilizado principalmente bibliografía relevante e información de los Informes PISA de la edición de 2018, específicamente el Índice Social, Económico y Cultural (ISEC). Con las aportaciones de los autores y PISA se muestra la incidencia del contexto social y cultural en el desarrollo formativo de los alumnos. Limitando o facilitando sus posibilidades en función de las dinámicas y recursos familiares. Por este motivo, para desarrollar y mejorar los resultados del sistema educativo español se requiere un abordaje profundo, complejo y global, más allá de una mirada pedagógica; se necesita incorporar una perspectiva social y cultural para comprender determinados comportamientos, actitudes, hábitos... de los alumnos y poderlos prevenir y revertir.

CLIL: graphic organisers and concept maps for noun identification within bilingual primary education natural science subject textbooks

ABSTRACT Though concept maps and graphic organisers are useful tools for bilinguals to organise the information being managed and learned, its systematic use is not widened and decisive in CLIL domains. Apart from helping students to acquire meaningful learning, concept mapping might promote in them word-recognition skills for the identification and management of relevant information within foreign language (L2) texts. Hence, this article inquires into the influence of concept maps and graphic organisers as tools for noun category identification from L2 texts. Research sample comprises sixty Spanish primary education students from a bilingual school. Design is quasi-experimental, and the training programme lasted three weeks. Materials used during the training period are not exceptional, but the ordinarily found in regular classrooms. Data gathering procedure consists of the identification and circling of nouns by sample participants. As a starting point, secondary data as the intelligent quotient, learning style, and English level is collected via standardised tests. The analysis of the variance showed a highly significant interaction between the groups and the implemented texts both for noun identification (F 3.171 = 12.124, p < 0.000, η 2 = 0.175), and the grammatical categories mistakenly identified as nouns (F 3.171 = 3.840, p < 0.016, η 2 = 0.063).

Predictors of attitudes about people with intellectual disabilities: empathy for a change towards inclusion

Social change towards inclusion is a very common topic, but progress is slow. Because of its importance in the current educational context, knowing how to speed up this transformation is fundamental. A multiple regression analysis with a transversal quantitative designed survey (n = 245) was conducted. The aim was to identify internal and external factors predicting attitudes towards people with intellectual disability in undergraduate students at the University of Murcia (Spain). According to the expected estimate, the variables ‘empathic concern’ and ‘chosen degree’ predict good attitudes towards people with intellectual disability among university students. On the other hand, external variables such as ‘previous knowledge about disability’ or ‘contact with people with disabilities’ are not explanatory factors. These findings contribute to the existing knowledge about predictive variables for attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities in the future Spanish education professionals.